Imran Khan, the embattled former Prime Minister of Pakistan, received some relief as a top Pakistani court granted him protective bail in eight terrorism cases and a civil case on Friday. This came after Imran Khan appeared before the court. Earlier in the day, another court had suspended the non-bailable arrest warrants against Imran Khan in a corruption case until 18 March.
Imran Khan, the 70-year-old chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, travelled to the Lahore High Court (LHC) in a bulletproof vehicle to seek protective bail in nine cases, including terrorism.
A two-member bench of the Lahore High Court (HC), comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Farooq Haider, heard the bail petitions of Imran Khan. In five cases in Islamabad, Imran Khan was granted bail till 24 March and till 27 March for three other cases.
Meanwhile, Justice Saleem also heard the bail pleas that Imran Khan filed against the civil case registered against him.
Imran Khan was earlier given an opportunity to appear before the district court hearing the Toshakhana case, as the Islamabad High Court has temporarily halted the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants against him until 18 March.
In anticipation of the Lahore High Court’s ruling, there was an uneasy calm in the upscale Zaman Park neighborhood of Lahore where Imran Khan resides. The area had witnessed violent confrontations between his steadfast supporters and the Punjab Police for two consecutive days. However, following the judicial intervention on Wednesday, the clashes eventually abated.
Imran Khan has been in the crosshairs for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana, and selling them for profit.
Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.
In October last year, Imran Khan was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan for not sharing details of the sales.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan will show up in court on Saturday, his lawyer said, defusing a volatile stand-off between his supporters and security forces who have tried to arrest him for evading the legal proceedings.
(With agency inputs)
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